Palaeo-environmental evolution of the Kathari-Lichines marine bay (Kition, Larnaca, Chypre)

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The late Holocene record of Lake Mareotis, Nile Delta, Egypt

Lake Maryut (northwestern Nile Delta, Egypt) was a key feature of Alexandria's hinterland and economy during Greco-Roman times. Its shores accommodated major economic centers, and the lake acted as a gateway between the Nile valley and the Mediterranean. It is suggested that lake-level changes, connections with the Nile and the sea, and possible high-energy events considerably shaped the human occupation history of the Maryut. To reconstruct Lake Maryut hydrology in historical times, we used faunal remains, geochemistry (Sr isotopic signature of ostracods) and geoarcheological indicators of relative lake-level changes. The data show both a rise in Nile inputs to the basin during the first millennia BCE and CE and a lake-level rise of ca. 1.5 m during the Roman period. A high-energy deposit, inferred from reworked radiocarbon dates, may explain an enigmatic sedimentary hiatus previously attested to in Maryut's chronostratigraphy

Pour une carte archéologiche et paléoenvironnementale de la Maréotide: le programme Geomar

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The Design of the n2EDM Experiment

We present the design of a next-generation experiment, n2EDM, currently under construction at the ultracold neutron source at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) with the aim of carrying out a high-precision search for an electric dipole moment of the neutron. The project builds on experience gained with the previous apparatus operated at PSI until 2017, and is expected to deliver an order of magnitude better sensitivity with provision for further substantial improvements. An overview is of the experimental method and setup is given, the sensitivity requirements for the apparatus are derived, and its technical design is described

The design of the n2EDM experiment: nEDM Collaboration

We present the design of a next-generation experiment, n2EDM, currently under construction at the ultracold neutron source at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) with the aim of carrying out a high-precision search for an electric dipole moment of the neutron. The project builds on experience gained with the previous apparatus operated at PSI until 2017, and is expected to deliver an order of magnitude better sensitivity with provision for further substantial improvements. An overview is of the experimental method and setup is given, the sensitivity requirements for the apparatus are derived, and its technical design is described

Étude biosédimentologique de la séquence stratigraphique sous le quartier de Smouha

Flaux Clément. Étude biosédimentologique de la séquence stratigraphique sous le quartier de Smouha. In: Les cahiers de Mariemont, volume 41, 2019. Alexandrie. pp. 97-104

Holocene coastal palaeo-environment of Maryut lake in the northwestern Nile delta, Egypt

La cité d'Alexandrie s'est développée sur un cordon littoral étroit, baigné au sud par le Maryut, lagune du delta du Nil qui s'est trouvée ainsi au coeur de l'économie industrielle et commerciale de la cité et de son arrière-pays depuis l'antiquité jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Dans ce riche contexte géo-archéologique, l'objectif de cette thèse de géomorphologie littorale a été de proposer une clef de lecture environnementale de l'histoire de l'occupation de la région du Maryut. L'analyse bio-sédimentologique des archives sédimentaires datées au radiocarbone, ainsi que la mesure du rapport isotopique du strontium dans des coquilles d'ostracode ont été utilisées pour reconstituer l'évolution hydrologique et géographique de la lagune à l'Holocène. La dépression du Maryut est transgressée par la mer vers 7,5 ka cal. BP. Les apports du Nil deviennent ensuite progressivement dominant dans le budget hydrologique, parallèlement à la progradation du littorale deltaïque. A partir de 5,5 ka cal. BP, nos données décrivent le retour progressif de conditions marines dominantes, associées à la réduction des débits du Nil, dans le contexte de la terminaison de la Période Africaine Humide. Cette lagune marine apparaît pérenne jusque 3ka cal BP, puis, dans le courant du 3ème millénaire BP, les intrants nilotiques redeviennent prépondérant. Ensuite, les archives sédimentaires et les données historiques disponibles décrivent une histoire environnementale contrastée est apparue corrélée à des phases de dynamisme et de récession agricole et met en évidence, selon nous, l'impact croissant des pratiques d'irrigation sur le fonctionnement du Maryut, situé en terminaison de la chaîne hydraulique.The ancient city of Alexandria was founded upon a narrow beach ridge, washed by the Maryut to the south. This Nile delta lagoon has been at the heart of the industrial and commercial economies of the city from Antiquity through to present day. Against the backdrop of this rich geoarchaeological context, the aim of this coastal geomorphology thesis is to elucidate the environmental history of the Maryut region.We have reconstructed the hydrological and geographical evolution of the lagoon during the Holocene using: (1) bio-sedimentology of radiocarbon-dated sediment archives; and (2) strontium isotopes in ostracod shells. The Maryut basin was transgressed by the sea around 7.5 ka cal. BP. Progressively, Nile inputs became dominant in the lagoon's hydrological budget, concomitant with the coastal progradation of the delta. After 5.5 ka cal. BP, our data attest to a gradual return to dominant marine conditions, which we link to a reduction in Nile flow in the context of the end of the African Humid Period. This marine lagoon seems to have been perennial until 3 ka cal. BP before Nile inflow became dominant, from the 3rd millennium BP until 0.8-0.9 ka cal. BP. The sediment archives and the historical data support an important retraction of the waterbody around 1 ka cal. BP, recorded by evaporite deposits. This was followed by a new highstand around 0.7 ka cal. BP before a retraction centred on 0.3-0.2 ka cal. BP. Since around 2000 years, this contrasting environmental history is correlated with phases of agriculture peaks and recessions and shows the increasing impact of irrigation practices on the functioning of the Maryut, located at the end of the hydrological conveyor

À quand remonte l’état de référence « naturel » du Vistre de la Fontaine (Nîmes) ?

La fouille archéologique préventive d’un ouvrage de franchissement du Vistre de la Fontaine daté du Haut‑Empire a ouvert une fenêtre sur l’évolution d’un paléo-chenal de la rivière couvrant environ 2 500 ans. Le Vistre de la Fontaine connaît une phase de défluviation synchrone de la fondation et du développement de Nîmes et de son territoire rural. Le paléo-chenal connait ensuite une phase d’incision de 1 à 3 m sous le niveau de la plaine alluviale. Son tracé est localement fixé par un pont en pierres durant le Haut‑Empire et le risque fluvial de l’affouillement des piles est géré par la technique de l’enrochement. Durant la même période la rivière est utilisée pour évacuer une partie des déchets urbains organiques et sa charge solide est fortement enrichie en plomb. L’ouvrage de franchissement est détruit vers le ve siècle ap. J.-C. par la migration latérale de la rivière à un rythme moyen de 1,2 m par siècle, associé à la lente construction d’un méandre. Son lit fera à l’époque moderne l’objet de curage et les embâcles sont brulées, puis le chenal sera complètement rectifié et approfondi au début des années 1950 et il est aujourd’hui projeté d’en restaurer la sinuosité naturelle au moyen de pelles mécaniques. Le Vistre de la Fontaine est un « socio-hydrosystème » au moins depuis 2 500 ans. The Vistre de la Fontaine is a karstic river whose the perennial source constituted the heart of Nîmes (France) since its foundation in the 6th century BC. The developer-funded excavation of a Roman bridge that used to cross the river opened a window upon evolution of its palaeo‑channel since around 2.500 years. The chrono-stratigraphy of the site first shows an avulsion of the riverbed during the early Iron Age. The palaeo-channel was then incised from 1 to 3 m under the alluvial plain between the early Iron Age and the Early Roman Empire. The palaeo-channel migrated southward, at a rate of 1.2 m.century-1, in association with the slow construction of a meander during 2.500 years. It began to fill in during the modern period until the middle of the 20th century.This morpho-sedimentary history reports fluvial modifications that were contemporary with Nîmes urban and rural development and emphasizes possible co-evolution and interactions. The avulsion of the Vistre de la Fontaine has been synchronous with the foundation and development of Nîmes and its countryside. The riverbed was locally fixed during the Early Roman Empire by the construction of a bridge whose piers were protected from scouring by heavy enrockment of the riverbed. During this period urban organic wastes were exhausted through the river flow whose sediment discharge was also heavily contaminated by lead. The bridge was finally destroyed by natural meandering of the Vistre de la Fontaine. The riverbed will then be dredged and log jams burned during modern times. The channel has been completely straightened, enlarged and deepened in early 1950s, while it is envisioned today to restore its natural sinuosity using mechanical shovels. The Vistre de la Fontaine is a « socio-hydrosystem » at least since 2.500 years

Adulis in its Regional Maritime Context. A Preliminary Report of the 2015 Field Season

In February 2015 a joint team of archaeologist, geo-archaeologists and geomorphologist from Massawa and Asmara museums and the “L’Orientale” and AixMarseille universities, resumed these investigations in the Adulis region. The survey focused on the hills/paleo-islands of Galala and in the Irafalo bay with the aim to identify archaeological evidence and to reconstruct the history of the vegetation and coastal paleo-geography since 6000 years. Other investigations focused to the north of Adulis and along the Haddas river bed, from Adulis to the coast, with the aim to assess archeological evidence, to reconstruct the history of the fluvial activity and to assess flood risk for the site